As my first introduction to CG Drews, Hazelthorn has left me breathless. If you were to imagine The Secret Garden's dark and twisted cousin, Hazelthorn shows up. A Botanical Monster Horror x Murder Mystery x Dark Romance, this book makes you FEEL like you are in the manor and gardens with Evander and Laurie. I can smell the moss and dirt, I can taste Evander's fear, I can feel the garden breathing. CG Drews has a wonderful way with words that makes you lose yourself completely in the story. I physically shuddered at moments of peak grotesqueness, I cried, I laughed, I felt every emotion possible. The romance arc was welcomed even if at some points I was asking why we were even given hope in this thorny abyss of darkness. For my friends who love creep plants, lush descriptions, and twists galore, I scream from the top of my lungs that this book is for you.

This book has made CG Drews an auto buy author for me and I can't wait to read everything they put out. Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan for letting me read this book early.

I didn't think it was possible to top Don't Let the Forest In but this book definitely does. The story gripped me immediately and I couldn't put it down. The poetic words painted a surreal dark academia world perfectly. After finishing, I was wrecked emotionally which made me love this book even more. I fell in love with the two main characters, the grotesque beginning of their relationship to the very end was beautifully written. C.G. Drews knows how to keep me captivated and wanting more. I look forward to more works from them!

CG Drews has one of those literary voices that makes a person voraciously hunger for more, with both this and "Don't Let the Forest In" they captivated my attention and fully immersed me in the worlds and thoughts of these characters. I felt like I wanted more, I could not stop reading and when I had to, I was eager to come back to it. CG Drews has to be one of my new favorite authors, and I think after this book, they could be yours too.

I was completely in love with Don't Let the Forest In from the moment I saw it in passing until the moment I finished it mere days later (and still, I love it so much!). I sang praises of the book to whoever that would listen. So when I was looking at Drews's other works and saw Hazelthorn, I needed it immediately. The cover was perfect and beautiful, the premise was interesting and I wanted to know more and more every time I thought of it.

Drews has an impeccable skill to create atmosphere--it's my favorite thing about their works by far. Their choice of wording and description feels so intentional, and I'm left feeling so immersed as if I've lived somewhere my whole life, even if I've only read one chapter.

The setting for Hazelthorn is perfect. It's dark, old and long-overgrown, quiet. Ideal. The characters are enjoyable and I can feel their emotions with them. The writing is flawless. I love how real they feel. Characters like Oleander are larger than life yet add so much to the story.

I'm so grateful to have received this ARC!! Thank you for letting me read my most anticipated book of 2025. I'm definitely going to buy a copy as soon as I can!

The flowery prose (pun intended, of course) could not have captured the intended vibes any better. I felt immersed in the garden just as much as the characters were.

The major plot reveals didn’t feel revolutionary, I saw most of them coming, but that doesn’t mean they were bad necessarily. The interactions and relationships between the characters, good and bad, made up for it anyway.

The pacing was perfect for me and the overall novel length felt good. I didn’t run into that problem where it felt like certain things should have been cut, shortened, or lengthened. Everything felt like it needed to be there.

While I don’t have any major problems to note with this this novel, it just didn’t hit me as hard as some of my favorite reads, so I simply cant rate it as high as them.

C.G. Drews never disappoints between hauntingly devastating prose to aggravatingly lovable monsters. Hazelthorn is easily one of my favorite books.

actual rating: 4.25. i want to take Evander out of the story and keep him in my pocket. oh my beloved unreliable narrator, nobody is doing it like you!! the aura, the atmosphere, and the vibes were all A+, perfectly spooky and eerie. i just felt like the ending was a little bit rushed, but did not ruin the overall impact of this story.

Hazelthorn is a phenomenal dark gothic adventure that keeps you on your toes and guessing every page, every chapter. The world of it is just so fascinating! The characters are all so interesting and you never quite know what to expect from any of them. Evander and Laurie are so, so, so very intriguing to me and I loved the development between them. Their bantering and pining was fascinating to read. This was a book that hooked me from page one, it took me time to finish it but that was not at all the books fault but personal life things that happened. This book is an INCREDIBLE read and I'm recommending it to everyone. If you liked Don't let the forest in you are going to LOVE Hazelthorn. The twists and turns in this are perfect and I was absolutely blown away. I don't want to spoil much in this review but WOW. If I could get lost in the house and garden again for the first time I absolutely would. It's haunting, it's horrifying and it's brilliant. It's an eerie world with characters that haunt the pages and your mind constantly. Evander is such a fascinating character to me and I found myself loving Laurie quite a lot! Their interactions with other characters was intriguing and I think the pacing of this book was phenomenal. Not slow, not too fast but perfect enough to make it hard to put down. C.G. Drews absolutely did it again, this is a book that will stay with me for a very very long time. I was unsure of what would happen in the book every second but I couldn't get enough. I'm honored to have gotten the e-arc and I cannot wait to get the physical book on my book shelf to read over and over again!

Evander has lived his life, locked away in his room, alone, in the gothic mansion home of his eccentric Billionaire guardian. Isolation, limitations, medications and procedures all for this own well being. But what is going to happen to him now that his guardian has died under mysterious circumstances?

This was such an eerie, atmospheric read with a touch of forbidden romance and an ending I did not see coming. The characters were insufferable in such a real and entertaining way. Plus autism and chronic pain rep.

Can't wait to get my hands on a physical copy, and more of CG Drews writing.

Thank you Feiwel & Friends, NetGalley, and C.G Drews for this advanced readers copy!

Fan of body horror? Especially botanical body horror? Spooky mysterious gardens and ghostly mansions? How about queer and neurodivergent representation? Yes? All of that? Well then you’ll really enjoy Hazelthorn.

Evander, 17 years old, is thrust into a world of greedy family politics, grief, mystery and murder. Evander spent years upon years isolated from the world and from everyone except his guardian as well as his butler.
When his guardian dies mysteriously, Evander is granted freedom to roam the estate and grounds that he has now inherited. Fighting against his guardian's family and their bloodthirsty greed, he starts to uncover what really lies beneath the estate. He would learn that some doors are better left locked.

A story of discovering your own roots and origins only to find a deep rage that comes with truth being unveiled. I would agree being denied autonomy and controlled like a feral garden would also make me mad.

I devoured this book in a day. It had me hooked in with its thorny vines and poison flowers. C.G Drews has beautiful writing with the ability to put you right into the shoes of the main character. The feeling of claustrophobia, paranoia, and yearning were palpable in the best way.

This may be one of my top reads of the year!

Hazelthorn is the second book I've read of C.G. Drew's and I completely devoured this book in a single day. Like Don't Let The Forest In, it became an instant favorite and it became one of the best books I've read in 2025. Hazelthorn is a horror book that follows Evander and Laurie and I love everything about it. As someone with severe anxiety and a condition similar to Evander, I love it for how raw the characters' feelings are and can relate to some of the things in this book. This book is dark but reaches deep into the mind and heart.

I would highly recommend this for fans of C.G. Drews, horror, and Don't Let The Forest In. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc of Hazelthorn.

3.5/5- An atmospheric plant horror murder mystery, with an autistic main character and a queer love story.

I can see why readers are devouring this, but it wasn't entirely for me. The story is compelling and very immersive, but I found the flowery writing awkward, repetitive, and distracting half the time.

TY NetGalley and Macmillan for the eARC!

”He really needs to pull apart the wicker cage of his ribs and see if he can find the reason he’s so obsessed with that boy hidden amidst the rot.”

Evander has lived like a ghost in the Hazelthorn estate ever since he was taken in by his reclusive billionaire guardian, Byron Lennox-Hall. For his own safety, he can never leave the estate, and he can never go into the gardens. And most importantly, he can never again be left alone with Byron’s charming, underachieving grandson, Laurie. But when Byron suddenly dies, Evander inherits Hazelthorn’s immense gothic mansion and acres of sprawling grounds. Evander’s sure his guardian was murdered, and Laurie may be the only one who can help him find the killer before they come for Evander next.

I read Don’t Let the Forest in earlier this year, and I loved it! I’m pretty sure it was my first five-star new favorite of the year, and now I’m happy to say that Hazelthorn is also another favorite!!

I’m just so obsessed with everything C.G. Drews is doing here. Horror about feral hungry boys who hate each other but also love each other!! Love that makes the other person go absolutely feral and maybe cannibalistic? We love to see it. I also love that they write YA horror that GOES THERE. I’ve talked about this before, but I don’t love a lot of YA horror bc usually it tones everything down for the targeted audience, which is valid. But y’know I do love some gross horror gore!! Hazelthorn definitely delivers on that with its haunting atmosphere and folk/fungal-horror vibes.

I don’t know if I like this one more than Don’t Let the Forest In. I’m surprised by how many similarities they have, while feeling so very different. Hazelthorn is more grounded in reality. Evander, as a character, doesn’t know what is going on exactly, so we’re put in the same place as him. While in Don’t Let the Forest In, we’re never completely sure if we should trust Andrew and what he believes to be true.

The writing is very veryyyy purple, which is not for everyone, but I liked it!! I love some pretentious writing, and I feel like it made the story more atmospheric. This was delicious I can’t wait to see what C.G. Drews writes next!!

Hazelwood is a dark and twisted tale about a garden that hungers for vengeance and a boy struggling to discover his past and who he really is.
We follow Evander, who has just inherited his guardian’s estate after a tragic accident. As all of the relatives converge on the house for the funeral, Evander is trying desperately to figure out exactly what, or who, killed his guardian. As he tries to unravel the secrets this family is hiding, he realizes that his own past may not be as he was told.

I really enjoyed this book. It was 4.5 stars for me. I’m always going to be a sucker for a malicious sentient garden. The prose was absolutely beautiful, and I could really feel how alive and terrified the characters were. I enjoyed all the twists and turns the narrative took, and all the descriptions of medical gore and trauma were very visceral. Lots of teeth stuff though, so if you don’t like teeth pulling be warned.
Laurie and Evander’s relationship was so chaotic and desperate, it was really fun to be pulled along with them and see how their characters developed and how their feelings toward each other changed.

Well…once again…I am going to need a few days to recover from that book. Boy oh boy!

I can only describe this book as a mix of Little Shop of Horrors and The Secret Garden. The story sucked me right in. The descriptions of the world around the characters are always stunning and beautifully written. I always find myself lost in that world (in a good way).

Something that I thoroughly enjoy is that her main character’s anxiety or autism is written so well. I felt seen as someone who has anxiety/adhd. The descriptions and how they react to things are a part of them and are not some badge that they wear. It resonates for me and is a realistic depiction.

“His guardian is dead. Hazelthorn is his. And everyone hates him.”

Evander has been sick for a long time. His childhood best friend, Laurie, tried to kill him many years ago. Byron Lennox-Hall is his guardian, his caretaker, someone who loves him. After Bryon dies, only telling Evander to never go into the garden, all of these truths of his life seem to fall apart. He’s not sick. Maybe Laurie didn’t try to kill him. Maybe Byron never cared for him. Nothing is making any sense. The garden is calling for him. A gorgeous story of what it feels like to be told to quiet yourself your whole life, to have something inherently wrong with you and never know what it is. A story of what it feels like to be deemed less, to be used for what you can do, for when you feel like nothing. A book made for the monsters under your bed and the monsters in you, for when your self-hatred becomes a weapon used to hurt the ones you love.

“He will always be a bloodied plaything and Laurie will always leave him to die because this is what they are to each other: two boys forever trying to sink their teeth into the other’s throat.”

I loved reading about Evander, how his life was out of his control and how the people who cared for him were liars. The Lennox-Hall family was sick and twisted. The plot twists of this book had me screaming on every page. The garden has me obsessed.

“God was stronger than me when he made Adam and didn’t fall in love with him.”

Thank you to Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group for providing me the opportunity to read and review this ARC!

I can not put into words how this book made me feel. This was absolutely beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time and that’s why I loved it so much. I could not get enough of it, truly. The writing style was so beautiful and descriptive, with lots of imagery and emotion. I felt like scenes and settings were described in such great detail and in such an artful way where I could see it unfolding in my head. The writing was truly atmospheric and also keeps you hooked into the story. The story was also thrilling and intriguing. There were some horror and suspense elements that I enjoyed and that made the story stay interesting.

I absolutely loved the premise of the story and Evander and Laurie. Their constant pull towards each other was so satisfying to read about and I loved how it was revealed on why that was. Their story is so beautiful and heartbreaking as well, I just could not get enough of them. They are both truly misunderstood boys, and their families are a**holes who didn’t even give them a chance. I hated everyone in the story but them two. I was giggling and kicking my feet, crying, holding my breath, and YEARNING for them. I just love how their story unfolded and how they came to be. This author really knows how to pull you in and really feel for characters, which is so great.

Overall, I adored this book and will be thinking about it for a long time I feel. I hope to read more by this author, and I encourage anyone who enjoys thriller and horror, to read this when it comes out in October!





⚠️Spoilers!⚠️
I’d have to say my favorite character is the garden. The garden has such depth to it and I loved the way it was tied to Evander, it really gave it a unique and touching feel. Laurie making Evander was so unique as well and their bond was beautiful. The garden was used by the family for greed and you could tell it did not like that. Making the garden have emotions was very special. I loved it so much

When I tell you I am obsessed!!! Ahh I have fallen in love with CG Drew’s writing! Step into a world where flora runs wild! Botanical body horror, amazing characters, and a wonderful plot!

This read was absolutely immaculate! It’s been sitting on my tablet for far too long quite frankly, but I just have not had a moment to slip into botanical horror and this Book does not disappoint! I have a copy pre-ordered already I knew I was gonna love it and I absolutely did!

CG Drew’s writes amazing characters and evil will truly feel like you know them inside and out as you read the story! And the story the story is just absolutely wonderful! I was hooked start to finish and I just could not put it down! I’m definitely gonna have to do a reread of both Hazelthorn, and don’t let the forest in at some point in October for more spooky vibes!

Definitely a book that you need someone to read with you just so you have someone that you can yell at whenever something crazy happens! A thank you to my brother for having no idea what I was talking about, but still listening to me rant about how amazing this book was!

5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book was a page turner the monsters in the garden whew so juicy kept me at the edge of my seat!! The mental in the characters came with such a force everyone should read this one

I did not finish this book. The writing was really good, but I had a hard time getting invested in the story. I felt like there was too much mystery to the point where I was just confused instead of anticipating something crazy happening. I think it's a good book, but I'm just not the right audience. Cover is beautiful though.